The number of National Training Board (NTB) apprentices studying at Bermuda College has dropped by about 18 percent in the last year, according to new figures. NTB chairman Herman Tucker told The Royal Gazette <$>yesterday that there were 98 apprentices at the college this year, compared to about 120 in 2005.

And he warned that the numbers would continue to fall unless the publicly-funded community college addressed its “capacity and capability to deal with technical education”.

“They do have challenges,” he said. “I would anticipate the numbers continuing to drop unless the college addresses its ability to deliver the technical training programmes in a manner deemed acceptable to the NTB and industry.”

Mr. Tucker revealed that between 1998 and 2001 the NTB, which sponsors and supports students studying technical education, typically had about 130 apprentices at the college. The figure dropped to about 100 between 2002 and 2004 but rose to around 120 last year.

He said the college needed to look at its infrastructure, facilities, programmes and the number of certified instructors it has to deliver programmes. “If they can’t offer a programme, we look elsewhere,” he said, adding that 85 students were currently being sponsored at overseas institutions by the NTB. “They are just one service provider.

“The ideal thing is that we have the capability here in Bermuda. It’s not that we are expecting the college to deliver every programme but certainly with the major programmes it would be advantageous to have it delivered here in Bermuda. Not everyone wants to go overseas.”

Nalton Brangman, former NTB chairman and former chairman of Bermuda College’s Board of Governors, said that a review done in 2001 found the college did not have the infrastructure to deliver its technical education programmes to the required standard.

He said the NTB made a decision to reduce the number of its apprentices at the college until that standard was met.

Mr. Brangman added that enrolment would “continue downwards until the critical technical training infrastructure, facilities and equipment is up to the standard as set by industry”.

Meanwhile, figures obtained from the college this week show that the total number of students enrolled there is down almost eight percent on the same time last year. The college — which was given a $17.2 million grant in this year’s Budget — had 1,130 students as of last Friday, compared to 1,226 at the same time last year.

Internal college figures obtained by this newspaper show that at the start of the fall semester there were 310 male students enrolled, compared to 379 at the same time last year. The number of female students had dropped from 829 to 767.

Evelyn James Barnett, the college’s Director of Communications, explained that the enrolment figures change all the time because of short-term professional and development courses and a “rolling admissions” policy.

She said the college had recently introduced a number of initiatives to boost its student numbers. “These include online education, career exploration for high school students for culinary arts, technical education and administrative sciences, and more,” she said.